Understanding processing fees is crucial for businesses that accept card payments—as these fees have a direct impact on your bottom line. This in-depth guide aims to provide business owners with a thorough understanding of processing fees, their components, and strategies to minimize them. By the end of this blog post, you'll be better equipped to| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Explore the latest Amex interchange rates, fees, and updates. Find out how much it costs to accept American Express with OptBlue and Direct Agreements.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Explore the latest Discover interchange rates and Discover merchant fees. Learn more about new Discover interchange rate increases, updates, and fee changes.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
September was packed with major developments in the payments space. From acquisitions to new product launches and strategic partnerships, here’s a roundup of the most important headlines and payment news from the past month: Worldpay Announces Major Rate Increase Worldpay is increasing its rates on January 1, 2026. The increase is expected to impact all […] The post Payment Processing Industry News — September 2025 first appeared on Merchant Cost Consulting.| Merchant Cost Consulting
Curve Dental is a cloud-based dental practice management software that serves over 80,000+ dentists across the US and Canada. As one of the most widely adopted solutions in the industry, Curve promises to streamline workflows and modernize dental practices through its robust platform. If you’re currently using Curve Dental or considering it for your practice, […] The post Curve Dental Review: Pros, Cons & Payment Processing (2025) first appeared on Merchant Cost Consulting.| Merchant Cost Consulting
Trying to make sense of your credit card processing statement can be frustrating. Between the industry jargon, multiple pages of line items, and fees that seem to come out of nowhere, it’s no surprise that most businesses just give these statements a quick glance and move on. But hidden in those pages are often random […] The post Random Fees on Merchant Processing Statement? What to Do first appeared on Merchant Cost Consulting.| Merchant Cost Consulting
Did you know that state and local governments qualify for lower interchange rates? In fact, government MCC codes have some of the cheapest interchange rates, starting as low as 1.55% + $0.10 per transaction. But just because the card networks process your transactions at a lower cost, it doesn’t mean that your processor is automatically […] The post Government & Public Sector Payment Processing Savings Tips first appeared on Merchant Cost Consulting.| Merchant Cost Consulting
SoftDent is a dental practice management software from Sensei, which is part of Carestream Dental. It’s similar to OrthoTrac, which is Carestream’s practice management solution for orthodontists, whereas SoftDent is built for dentists. Like other dental patient management systems, SoftDent offers integrated payment processing so dentists can manage different aspects of their practice while accepting […] The post SoftDent Practice Management & Payment Solutions Review 2025 first appear...| Merchant Cost Consulting
Worldpay commonly sends notices to customers about new processing rate increases, changes, and noteworthy updates. Here at Merchant Cost Consulting, we try our best to stay up to date with changes from payment processors to keep our readers informed. New Worldpay Rate Increase Effective January 2026 Worldpay’s newest rate increase is set to take effect on […] The post Worldpay Rate Increases, Fees, and Updates (2025) first appeared on Merchant Cost Consulting.| Merchant Cost Consulting
Surcharge fees are a hot topic in Indiana. Whether you’re a business owner considering a surcharge program or a consumer who wants to understand your rights, this guide covers everything you need to know about Indiana’s stance on credit card surcharging. Disclaimer: This information is for reference only, and it does not constitute legal advice. […] The post Indiana Credit Card Surcharge Laws (2025) first appeared on Merchant Cost Consulting.| Merchant Cost Consulting
If you’re skimming through your monthly merchant statement and spotted a Mastercard Safety Net Acquirer Fee, you may be wondering whether the fee is legit or just another money-grab from your processor. I’ll start with the good news: this is a legitimate assessment fee imposed directly by Mastercard. Read on for the full breakdown. What […] The post Mastercard Safety Net Acquirer Fee Explained (with Examples) first appeared on Merchant Cost Consulting.| Merchant Cost Consulting
Ortho2 is a comprehensive cloud practice management solution designed for orthodontists. Originally founded in 1982, this software provider has evolved over the years to keep pace with technology trends and industry demands. Our team at MCC has extensive experience with Ortho2 through our relationship with clients in the orthodontic space. While our speciality and expertise […] The post Ortho2 Review: Pros, Cons, Fees & Payment Processing (2025) first appeared on Merchant Cost Consulting.| Merchant Cost Consulting
The ultimate guide on embedded payments, including how it works, pros, cons, use cases, costs, and a direct comparison between embedded and integrated payments.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about chargebacks, including chargeback fees, chargeback codes, types of chargebacks, and how to prevent chargebacks.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Discover everything you need to know about virtual terminals for payment processing. Find out what is a virtual terminal and how virtual terminals work.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about rolling reserves. Find out if you can get a rolling sales reserve removed from your merchant account contract.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
We’re living in an era where mobile devices are seemingly glued to the hands of every person on the planet. Everyone has a smartphone within an arm’s reach. As a merchant, you need to understand that consumers want to use their smartphones for everything, including paying for goods and services. It’s time to adapt. Every| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Visa is cracking down on automatic interchange optimization. Find out what this means if you're submitting Level 2 and Level 3 card data to optimize CEDP rates.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Find out if you're getting a good deal on high-risk processing or if your high-risk merchant account provider is ripping you off. Plus how to save money on it.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Top alternatives to credit card surcharges businesses should consider before implementing a surcharge program. Save money without passing costs to customers.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about interchange downgrades and how they work. Compare the latest interchange downgrade fees from Visa and Mastercard.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about the credit card surcharge laws in Virginia, including the new disclosure requirements that went into effect on July 1, 2025.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about merchant fees in credit card processing. This guide covers the different types of merchant fees and answers merchant fee FAQs.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about Visa's non-qualified interchange rate, including how it differs from other types of non-qualified fees and how to avoid them.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Disclosure: This page is for informational purposes only and is NOT legal advice. We are just presenting facts associated with the settlement, and we are in no way making suggestions or recommendations. PaymentCardSettlement.com is the ONLY court-authorized website for this case. Refer to that website or consult with an attorney for more information. Merchants that| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
What is Visa FANF Fee? Use this guide to find out everything about the fixed acquirer network fee charged by Visa, including what it is and how it's calculated.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Understand EMV compliance, how it works, why it matters, and EMV compliance laws. Follow these 3 quick steps to ensure your business is EMV compliant.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Interchange Downgrades: How to Avoid Them Any company accepting credit cards is likely familiar with interchange fees. If you’re not or you need to brush up on your knowledge, check out our complete guide to interchange fees and rates. In the simplest possible terms, interchange is one of the main costs associated with processing a| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Our insider take on Dolphin Practice Management, specifically for its integrated payment processing options with Global Payments, Breeze, and Rectangle Health.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Qualified processing rates refer to the merchant fees that a business pays for a specific type of credit card processing, known as tiered or bundled pricing. Depending on the merchant account agreement and fee structure, the qualified rate is one of the three possible tiers that a transaction can fall into—with mid-qualified and non-qualified as| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
The Visa Transaction Integrity Fee (TIF) is a $0.10 fee charged on US Visa Debit or Visa Prepaid cards that fail to meet CPS qualification. Learn more here.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Compare Amex OptBlue vs. Amex Direct. Learn the differences between Amex OptBlue rates and Amex Direct rates, and find out how to save money on Amex processing.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Read this guide if you found the MC Digital Enablement Fee or MC DB/Prepaid Digital Enablement Fee on your credit card processing statement.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
An unexpected stoppage in your payment processing procedure can be troublesome for a business owner. From withheld funds to processing freezes or account terminations, these instances can be potentially devastating. Credit card processing companies put funds on hold for a variety of reasons. If this happens, money received from credit card transactions won’t be transferred| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Credit card processing fees can be a tough pill to swallow. While the vast majority of merchants in 2020 understand the importance of accepting credit cards, most of them don’t realize that they can save money on credit card processing. Every transaction isn’t assessed with the same interchange rate. The fees vary on a wide| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
There are lots of misconceptions out there about accepting business credit cards. Some people will tell you that these cards are expensive to process. But in reality, there are steps you can take to lower your credit card processing rates for B2B transactions. Regardless of your business size or industry, you can qualify for better| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about B2B payment processing and how to get lower B2B credit card processing rates for your business using a B2B payment gateway.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Explore the differences between manually keyed transactions vs. swipe transactions and find out how to manually enter credit card numbers on machines.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Aside from getting paid, security is arguably the most important part of credit card processing. Each time your business handles a consumer credit card, the customer trusts you to protect their sensitive financial information—including their cardholder data. There are lots of misconceptions amongst merchants about what cardholder data includes and how they need to protect| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
See how Buy Now Pay Later works for your business, BNPL fees, and BNPL providers. Learn more about the pros and cons of BNPL for merchants and consumers alike.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Many businesses wonder if they can legally impose minimum purchase amounts on customers paying with credit or debit cards. The short answer—yes, and no. If certain conditions are met, the federal government allows merchants to set minimum purchase amounts for credit card transactions. But minimum purchase amounts for debit card transactions are not allowed. Before| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
US law gives consumers 60 days from the statement date to dispute a charge. Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover extend it to 120 days of the transaction date.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Our insider take on using Rectangle Health for payment processing. Find out what we like, what we don't, and take a closer look at fees from real statements.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Our insider take on Greyfinch's payment processing services, including its rates and all the insights you need to negotiate the best deal for your practice.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Get our insider take on Breeze's payment processing services, including a breakdown of fees and a comparison with similar processors for orthodontics practices.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about Visa's surcharging policy for credit cards, including what's legal and what's illegal at the state and federal levels.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Surcharging credit card transactions is legal in New York, but with strict contingencies. Use this guide to find out what's legal and what's not.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Minnesota updated its surcharge laws as of January 1, 2025. We break down what's changed, and clarify what's legal and illegal for surcharging credit cards.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about the credit card surcharging laws in Illinois, including a closer look at the surcharge limits and new interchange laws.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about California's new credit card surcharging laws, including what's legal and illegal for businesses.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
A payment gateway enables businesses to accept payments online. Read this guide to learn more about how payment gateways work and exactly what they do.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Credit card networks help power the global economy. Millions of credit card transactions are processed every day—all of which would be impossible without the card networks. From small businesses to ecommerce giants and everything in between, credit card networks help funnel sales into organizations of all different shapes and sizes. As a merchant, it’s important| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
The term “liquidated damages” is something a merchant never wants to see or hear. Generally speaking, there are two instances where liquidated damages come into play—when you’re signing a merchant agreement and when you’re trying to cancel a merchant account. If you see a liquidated damages clause in a new merchant agreement prior to signing,| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Do credit card processors charge for refunds? Yes. Read this guide to find out everything you need to know about credit card refund fees.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Whether you’re selling products or services, expenses are simply a natural part of doing business. But the cost of merchant fees can add up quickly—sometimes exceeding 3% or even 4% of your gross sales. Rather than simply accepting these costs as an expense necessary for your business, there are steps you can take to avoid| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Credit card authorization is required for every credit and debit card purchase. So if you’re a business that accepts credit cards or a consumer that uses credit cards to make purchases, you’ve been involved in the credit card authorization process. According to Capital One, there are 1.86 billion credit card transactions globally per day, on| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Compare the average credit card processing fees, merchant credit card fees, and average credit card transaction fees for Visa, Amex, Mastercard, and Discover.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
I’ve recently encountered many business owners facing the same problem—they don’t know how to accept credit card payments over the phone. Some of these organizations improperly take phone payments, leading to higher credit card processing fees, more chargebacks, and increased risks for the business. Companies in nearly every industry have a need for credit card| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Learn what a convenience fee is and how to legally charge one. Compare the differences between convenience fees, surcharges, and service fees, with examples.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
We break down everything you need to know about OpenEdge including fees and real statement examples. We also expose how they inflate assessment fees for profit.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
The ability to accept credit card payments is an absolute must in today’s world. But credit card processing is a complex subject—without thousands of different fees to navigate. Credit card transaction fees can add up quickly. With average credit card processing fees ranging anywhere from 2% to 3.5% per transaction, businesses are paying tens of| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
The ultimate TSYS merchant services review for credit card processing. Learn more about TSYS pros, cons, rates, fees to look out for, and if you should switch.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Get our insider take on Bank of America Merchant Services for payment processing, including its pros, cons, fees, and a closer look at real BOA statements.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
What You Need to Know About Switching Merchant Services| Merchant Cost Consulting
Credit card processing can be expensive for merchants, especially small business owners. If you’re on a tight budget, the fees imposed by credit card processing companies can significantly cut into your profit margins. With that said, you still need to accept credit cards. According to a recent study, just 14% of consumers prefer to pay| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Surcharging has been a hot topic lately for consumers and merchants alike. Some small business owners implement a surcharge to save money on credit card processing. What is a surcharge? In short, it’s an extra fee added to a credit card transaction to cover the costs of accepting the customer’s card. If a consumer wants| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
MCC can help your business lower credit card processing fees. Get a FREE audit & analysis and find out how much you can save in credit card fees.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Credit card merchant fees are always changing. As a business, it’s important to understand how all credit card merchant fees work, and which processing fees are negotiable. Understanding credit card merchant assessment fees is crucial because they’re intended to be non-negotiable costs imposed by the card networks. Yet so many processors “pad” assessment fees as| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about merchant category codes (MCC). Explore MCC codes for ecommerce, MCC for online retailers, and find out your MCC code.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Interchange plus pricing is commonly used by credit card processors to determine the per-transaction rates paid by merchants. But it’s just one of several different contract structures that businesses might be presented with when they’re signing up for credit card processing—and it’s one of the most complex. Complexity aside, interchange plus pricing is typically the| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Discover what is a merchant account and find out how merchant accounts work. Learn how to open a merchant account in 5 steps to accept credit and debit cards.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about lower credit card processing fees. Find out how to save money on credit card processing in 5 steps with our in-depth guide.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Our insider take on the pros and cons of surcharging credit card transactions so merchants can decide if adding a surcharge fee makes sense for their business.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Find out what to do when your credit card processor increases your rates. You can negotiate, fight back, and get lower rates by following this 5-step guide.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
The merchant discount rate (MDR) is not a discount. It's a fee that merchants pay to processing companies as a percentage of a credit or debit card transaction.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
The latest Visa interchange rates and fees for credit card processing. See all the updates to Visa interchange rates and how much it costs to accept Visa cards.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Learn more about interchange fees and how interchange works. See the latest interchange fees, rates, and updates from credit card networks and processors.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
See the latest Mastercard interchange rates and fees. Explore categories like large ticket interchange, restaurant interchange, retail interchange, and more.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
A closer look at the true costs of flat-rate credit card processing, and why it's costing businesses tens of thousands of dollars in overpayments every year.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
The latest EVO Payments updates, news, rate increases, and fees for credit card processing. Find out how much it costs to use EVO Payments for card acceptance.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Everything you need to know about Level 2 and Level 3 credit card processing. Learn how to save money on Level 2 interchange and Level 3 processing rates.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Processing rates can get out of control if you’re not keeping a close eye on them. But monthly statements can be complex and difficult to read, making it tough for businesses to truly understand what they’re actually paying to accept card payments. The cost for credit and debit card processing varies per transaction. So the| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
A full explanation of integrated payments, including how it works, benefits, and real-world examples of how businesses leverage integrated payment solutions.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
If you try to close a merchant account, you might be surprised to learn that you owe an early termination fee. This is a common cancellation fee in merchant agreement contracts, yet so many business owners overlook it when applying for a merchant account. This in-depth guide explains everything you need to know about early| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
See our insider take on Global Payments Integrated with an analysis of its pros, cons, and rates. We also show you how to spot bogus fees on your statement.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
We break down the latest Global Payments Integrated fees for credit card processing. See updated surcharging rules, fines, fees, and Global Payments rates here.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Get a FREE audit and analysis today.| Merchant Cost Consulting
All the reasons why merchants should avoid surcharge programs, and why you should think twice before you add a surcharge fee to your credit card transactions.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Credit card processing fees are simply part of doing business in the modern era. If you want to provide your customers with a smooth and convenient way to pay for goods or services, then you’re going to pay processing fees to accept card payments—there’s just no way around it. With that said, you do have| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Find out if surcharging credit card transactions is the right decision for your business. We cover the most common scenarios when it makes sense to surcharge.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Learn to audit your credit card processing statements to see if your payment processor is taking advantage of you by padding or inflating your assessment fees.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Find out how to read, audit, and truly understand your monthly merchant statements for credit card processing to identify fees and cost savings opportunities.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
A complete break down of credit card surcharging laws in all 50 states. Use this guide to quickly find out if surcharging is legal or illegal in your state.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Credit card processing fees are a pain for merchants. Merchant fees cost businesses more than $100 billion per year—and that’s just in the United States. If you’re reading this right now, there’s a good chance you’re paying tens of thousands annually in merchant fees. Some of you are spending upwards of $250,000+ on merchant fees| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
A closer look at two merchants being ripped off by Global Payments with real examples from those statements, and how to find out if you're being ripped off too.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
Get our insider take on EVO Payments, including its pros, cons, and pricing breakdown for credit card processing. You won't find this information anywhere else.| Merchant Cost Consulting - Lower Credit Card Processing Fees
